The 800-lb. Ellard in the room

[HUbison]

Don't jump my case here. I'm not advocating one side or the other......I'm simply asking the question.

As a coach, what has Henry Ellard done to earn so much desire from fans to retain his services at all cost?

HUb, look how great our receivers have been! --- He came on in 2001. Holt and Bruce were great before Ellard got on board. And who has Ellard himself developed?

HUb, he was a great LA Ram! Tradition, dude! --- Then let's bring in Jim Everett to be the QB coach.



Guys, I got no problem with Ellard. If he is the WR coach for Spags, great! But some have gone so far as to say Ellard deserves a lifetime contract!

I'm just asking.........as a coach, what has he done?

[txramsfan]

I guess the proof will be this season if Ellard is still around. If Burton and Avery step up and show huge progress in route running, you can put alot of that in Ellard's hat. If not, then what WAS Ellard doing?

[general counsel]

If Isaac Bruce didnt get a lifetime contract, no one should get one. I think Bruce and Holt needed a wide receiver coach about as much as greg maddux and tom glavine needed a pitching coach. Said another way, i dont believe for a second that ellard did much to influence the production of two HOF guys.

I agree with Tx. The true test is how well did/will ellard do with the young guys and that is spags call from my perspective.

ramming speed to all

general counsel

[Truth]

Given the teams performance TEAM WIDE for the past couple of seasons, I don't have a real problem with replacing staff. If we really want to see what Spags can do, then we need to let him make the call.

[Richbert88]

......... If we really want to see what Spags can do, then we need to let him make the call.

I agree. From this point forward I will step off and let the Head Coach decide whose on his staff. :-)

[HUbison]

he did more for holt and bruce than you think. henery had to teach torry to catch the ball over his shoulder instead of turning around to catch the ball.

Holt was in his 3rd season before learning to catch over his shoulder?

[Goldenfleece]

Well, Kevin Curtis turned out pretty well, and guys like Shaun McDonald, Dane Looker, and Mike Furrey seemed to get a lot out of what they had (i.e. good production despite the lack of blazing speed, extraordinary size, etc.). Okay, so he hasn't yet turned a Mr. Irrelevant into Marques Colston, but all in all I think we've gotten good results from the position over the years. It's always going to be kind of hard to separate the effect of coaching from success by natural talent unless there's something obviously wrong with what the players are doing. This year is the first one in a long time that I can remember it being obvious that receivers were sometimes running the wrong routes or not running them sharply enough to be where the quarterback expected them to be, but that's because we're talking about rookies.

[eric2810]

When the ball is in the air Torry tends to turn around to catch the ball instead of trying to run under the ball. so instead of catching the ball on the run he twists his body and trys to catch the ball in an un natural position. he even said that himself on in their own words. haha I have it on tape.

Sure you can say Torry has made that mistakes a few times, but I'm sure he's played football mainly his whole life, so catching the ball over his shoulder is something they coach you in high school. C'mon man.

[Yodude]

Well, Kevin Curtis turned out pretty well, and guys like Shaun McDonald, Dane Looker, and Mike Furrey seemed to get a lot out of what they had

Not to take anything away from what these guys have accomplished, but really, how hard could it have been to be the Rams' third or fourth WR since 1999 when defenses had to worry about both Bruce and Holt at the same time. Just saying.

[NJ Ramsfan1]

Well, Kevin Curtis turned out pretty well, and guys like Shaun McDonald, Dane Looker, and Mike Furrey seemed to get a lot out of what they had (i.e. good production despite the lack of blazing speed, extraordinary size, etc.). Okay, so he hasn't yet turned a Mr. Irrelevant into Marques Colston, but all in all I think we've gotten good results from the position over the years. It's always going to be kind of hard to separate the effect of coaching from success by natural talent unless there's something obviously wrong with what the players are doing. This year is the first one in a long time that I can remember it being obvious that receivers were sometimes running the wrong routes or not running them sharply enough to be where the quarterback expected them to be, but that's because we're talking about rookies.

I think this is as fair a statement one can make on the subject. Unless you are involved with the coaching sessions or are a coach yourself and understand the little nuances involved with running routes and catching the football, you really can't make a definitive assessment on the job a position coach has done. All you can do is look at the production of the people who have played for him and the longevity of his tenure. The Rams receiving corps over the years has been a strength. And while naturally gifted players will make even mediocre coaches look good, it is unfair to say "Ellard had nothing to do with their success". And the fact he's been there for 11 years says he is regarded highly enough to keep around.

[bigredman]

Don't jump my case here. I'm not advocating one side or the other......I'm simply asking the question.

As a coach, what has Henry Ellard done to earn so much desire from fans to retain his services at all cost?

HUb, look how great our receivers have been! --- He came on in 2001. Holt and Bruce were great before Ellard got on board. And who has Ellard himself developed?

HUb, he was a great LA Ram! Tradition, dude! --- Then let's bring in Jim Everett to be the QB coach.

Guys, I got no problem with Ellard. If he is the WR coach for Spags, great! But some have gone so far as to say Ellard deserves a lifetime contract!

I'm just asking.........as a coach, what has he done?

I want to have your babies hubie....I have been sick to continually watch our receivers catch a ball and fall down, making no attempt to get YAC like they used to in 1999. Take a look a Fitzgerald of Arizona....refusing to go down...fighting for the extra yard...going up and TAKING the ball while double covered. Our receivers don't show that the majority of the time. Sure...once in awhile one of them will man up...but for the most part...it's catch...fall down or run out of bounds. Henry simply has not brought out the best in our receiver's abilities. Take last year. Many of you apologizing for Bulger's performance by pointing the finger at the new receiver's inability to consistently run their routes properly. Well who should take the blame for that? (of course the players must, but why should the receiver's coach get a pass?)

Thank you Hubie for bringing this up. Big brass ones my friend. I thought, but hadn't posted it. You did. Hoooyah!

[HUbison]

All you can do is look at the production of the people who have played for him and the longevity of his tenure. The Rams receiving corps over the years has been a strength. And while naturally gifted players will make even mediocre coaches look good, it is unfair to say "Ellard had nothing to do with their success". And the fact he's been there for 11 years says he is regarded highly enough to keep around.

Valid point. I don't know of any other Rams coach that has been as long (though it's actually 8 years, not 11).

[HUbison]

I want to have your babies hubie

Wow! Even for a man in a kilt, that might be difficult.

[dewalt_ram]

1. Is a class act that knows what RAM PRIDE IS
2. Is a HOF WR so he knows his chit
3. Can show leadership and professionalism to veterans as well as rookies
4. Is a RAM legend so the players give him some the utmost respect, just like when lasorda is around the current dodgers they seem to play beyond there normal level.
5. besides bennet (mr porcelin) i cant name a dink ram wr
6. Unlimited knowledge at the position

I say when Bruce hangs it up you persue him and add him to the rams REC coaching staff, WOW 2 hof recievers no reciever would want to come in and not give it all!!!!!!!

[HUbison]

1. Is a class act that knows what RAM PRIDE IS
2. Is a HOF WR so he knows his chit
3. Can show leadership and professionalism to veterans as well as rookies
4. Is a RAM legend so the players give him some the utmost respect, just like when lasorda is around the current dodgers they seem to play beyond there normal level.
5. besides bennet (mr porcelin) i cant name a dink ram wr
6. Unlimited knowledge at the position

I say when Bruce hangs it up you persue him and add him to the rams REC coaching staff, WOW 2 hof recievers no reciever would want to come in and not give it all!!!!!!!

1. Is he a class act? How do we know that? What has his "Ram Pride" gotten us lately?
2. No, he's not a HOF WR. Maybe he should be; maybe he will be. But, right now, he's not.
3. Can he? What leadership qualities has he displayed?
4. He's been here since 2001. Why haven't these players played "beyond their normal levels" since 2003?
5. Define dink.
6. If he is omniscient, then screw WR coach, make him Head Coach!



There's got to be something more than "he was a great Ram". If being a great player automatically translated to being a great coach, Magic Johnson would have more than 5 career coaching wins, and Norm Van Brocklin wouldn't have a sub-.400 winning percentage.